Unfamiliar
by stranded-on-an-island
Summary: The aftermath of a scenario where Hal's call comes too late, and not in time to save Rook. (Think of it as a dark timeline in the BH universe.)
1. Chapter 1

Hal found himself counting the rings as he pressed the receiver closer to his ear. He reached the fifteenth ring, and there was still no answer. But he couldn't give up. Because without Rook, Hal had Larry's body to get rid of by himself.

He couldn't believe he was ready to admit that he needed the help of someone who had once stolen his friend's body. But he was desperate. Rook's department was trained in keeping this sort of thing under wraps. They were the experts. Sure, Hal had more than some experience in covering up murders, but this was back in the day. Now they had modern technology that could easily zero in on who the perpetrator was just by making use of some DNA.

Five more rings passed before Hal realized it was time to call it quits. That there would be no cavalry coming to save the situation.

Meanwhile, inside a clean and well-lit room, a phone's ringtone echoed. And next to the phone was Rook, lying face-down on the table, with a bullet lodged in his head.

When the receiver was back in its cradle, Hal went from behind the bar to where Larry was lying on the floor. Hal quickly disentangled the lamp's cord and took a step back to asses the damage. There was no blood anywhere from what he could tell. The werewolf had died from simple strangulation and that thankfully limited the evidence left behind. Things could be resolved, if he had enough time, and Hal thanked his lucky stars that Alex wouldn't be able to just rent-a-ghost back to the house with Tom.

He went into the cellar, looking for a shovel. It had been quite some time since he had to bury a body, but he still remembered how to do it. And he could do it pretty fast. You didn't live to be over five centuries old without being resolute and strong. But the cellar offered nothing but dust bunnies and pieces of a tangled rope. Hal rubbed his forehead in frustration and rushed back up the stairs. He couldn't believe there were dozens of worthless knick knacks in Honolulu Heights but not a single shovel. With time pressing heavily on him, Hal had to make due with the lid of a pot he found in the kitchen.

The back garden wasn't spacious enough for a proper grave, but he did his best to dig as deeply as he could. With Tom's wolf sense of smell, Hal knew he had to put as much earth as possible between the surface and Larry.

An idle thought popped into Hal's mind a few seconds after he started digging. He wondered how Tom would take the news of his former mentor not being alive anymore because of him. Would he be angry? Disappointed? Maybe even a bit glad? Hal hoped he'd never have to see his reaction.

Once the grave was done, Hal ran back inside the house and began dragging the body towards the back yard. Larry was heavy, and Hal realized that he was quickly losing his breath. A memory conjured in his mind, where Cutler had been the one to do the digging and dragging of bodies for him. But now that seemed like centuries ago.

A few minutes later, and Hal had already started throwing dirt back in the freshly made grave. Larry's face was still stuck, contorted into a sort of smirk. Hal felt as if he was mocking him, even in his death.

* * *

Hal's fingers were still twitching every so often, even hours after Tom and Alex had returned. Luckily, the two hadn't considered it out of the ordinary as they went about their day. And now that it was well into the night, Hal struggled to clear his head and try to get some sleep.

Even though he was still very much aware of the body buried in their back yard, Hal's mind was elsewhere. He felt as if the presence of the blood flask had grown stronger. Now it was much easier to rationalize slipping down that slope. He'd already killed and buried someone who was technically innocent, so would a few drops of blood really cause that much trouble? It would be so easy, too. The flask was in a drawer only a few inches from him, patiently waiting.

Hal spent the rest of the night arranging dominoes around the bedroom.

* * *

During the following week, he struggled to keep to his routines and attempt to forget what had transpired mere days before. Hal was ready to fall back into normality when he caught Alex reading the paper one morning.

"Christ, look at this" she said, her eyes glued to the article. "Two new people found eviscerated in the local park. That's like six in the span of three days."

Hal grabbed the paper to take a closer look. "This must have been from a vampire attack. Look how their throats have been ripped out."

"Don't suppose you'd know if any of your fangy friends were in town?"

Hal shook his head. "What I don't understand is why it's in the paper. Rook's supposed to take of things like this. Keep it under wraps."

Alex shrugged. "Don't suppose he's busy?"

"His entire life seems to be built around keeping these kinds of things quiet. Something must have happened."

"Well then let's go take a look" Alex said, rising from the table.

Hal frowned. "What, you're coming?"

"Umm yeh. It's either this, or stay here and watch reruns of the Antiques Roadshow the rest of the morning, and you know that's not a bit of fun without you and Tom here."

"Alex, despite your invisibility you are still very much a presence anywhere you go."

"What, you're saying I'm loud now?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

Hal began to notice a very angry nerve appearing on her temple.

Despite Hal's opposition, Alex had decided that there was no point in walking all the way to the Archives when she could just rent-a-ghost the both of them there. The vampire struggled to keep his composure as he fought back nausea.

"You alright there, champ?" Alex asked, amused.

"I don't very much appreciate being blinked out of existence, even if it's for a fraction of a second."

Alex held her hands up. "Well if you'd rather walk all the way to bloody nowhere, and then try and get back in time for your shift at the hotel, then go right ahead."

He tried ignoring her as he walked over to the door. Hal tried pushing it open, but it failed to budge. "That's odd. It's locked."

"Bet you're happy now that I tagged along, eh?"

"_Happy_ isn't the word I'd use."

Alex made a face before rent-a-ghosting on the other side to open the door.

The building was deserted. Or at least it seemed as much. Alex and Hal listened to the echoes of their own footsteps bounce from wall to wall as they went deeper into the archives. It looked like the Men in Gray were all gone, attending to something of great significance.

* * *

The headstone was engraved so simply that it almost perfectly emulated Rook's mannerisms. Clean cut. Precise. She could almost hear his motto echoing in the back of her head just by looking at it.

No care. All responsibility. Natasha's face remained almost unmoving as a single tear slid down her cheek.


	2. Chapter 2

_Dear Tasha,_

_In light of recent activities I won't be able to trust speaking through the telephone, and thus have decided to write this letter instead. If anything should happen to me I must ask that you pick up where I left off. Our department is crucial to the good of the country, and I wouldn't forgive myself if it went under without me there. _

_I know you might consider yourself still too inexperienced, but I believe you are ready to handle the responsibility. You may be put in quite a few unpleasant situations along the way, and during those times I must ask you to please remember that what we're doing is all for the greater good. You can do this._

_Good luck, Tasha, and god's speed._

Natasha folded back the paper and stuck it in her trouser pocket. The letter was dated three weeks ago, only a few days before Rook had called to ask for her help. A part of her remembered how excited she had become at the very idea of joining the Men in Gray. After all, Natasha had wished to work for them for so long. But the fear of the unknown had gotten the better of her, and she had declined at the time, thinking she just needed a few more days to think it through. And now Rook was gone.

But the question that kept bouncing around her head was why. Why had Rook decided to just end his life? She had to get to the bottom of this. No, she _needed_ to.

* * *

Dust floated around them with each step down the corridor. Seeing as she couldn't be affected by it, Alex paid it no mind, but Hal began to plan in his head the necessary steps that he could take to clean up the building. He'd never get to actually do it, of course, but the simple task of imagining it relaxed him somewhat.

It was clear that some of the corridors hadn't seen any activity for quite some time. The building remained just as devoid of human presence the more they walked on.

"We must be missing one hell of a party" Alex said, breaking the silence.

Hal shook his head. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Just look around. This place is so deserted, you just know they're all off somewhere important. There must be some sort of crazy supernatural parade or something. How come we didn't get an invite?"

Hal was about to retort when the lights flickered. They both stopped cold, looking around for any ghost who might have caused the disturbance. Hal soon realized there was no trace of any spirit, and the lights were simply blinking because the building was losing power.

He noticed several files thrown about and various other papers lying around every which way. Alex had told him how spotless and well organized the Archive was when Tom and her had sneaked in to find her file. But now the immaculate façade was crumbling with every step they took.

"The whole place is falling apart" Hal said, more to himself. "They must be losing funds. Losing people."

"You think that must be it?"

Hal nodded. "It could certainly explain why Rook was so insistent on-" He stopped talking and hoped Alex hadn't been paying attention to him. He had almost spilled how Rook once asked him to become the leader of the vampires.

"So insistent on what?" Alex asked.

"Nothing, just a fleeting thought."

Alex cocked her head to the side. "Hal."

"We best get going before the lights get cut."

"Hal, what's going on?"

He sighed. "I really wish I knew."

They both resumed their search, stepping down another long corridor. Once they were out, Hal headed towards a desk and began browsing the various files that were resting on it. Alex followed suit. Several minutes past in silence, only broken by the periodic flickering of the lights.

"Look here" Alex said, gesturing at the paper she was reading, "four of the six murders were attributed to a certain Mr. Ian Crum."

Hal took a deep breath to calm himself. This was already getting out of hand.

"Wasn't Rook supposed to take care of him?" Alex asked.

"He evidently did a horrible job of it" Hal said, rubbing his forehead, "we'll need to fix this ourselves,"

"How exactly?"

Hal hadn't a clue either There were so many things up in the air, threatening to fall back down disastrously. But they could do this. They could fix it all. Hal let go of the papers and strode down back the corridor they came in.

"Where are you going?" Alex called after him.

"I saw something on the way in. Come on."

* * *

_Do not enter on this day of the month_.

Alex raised a curios eyebrow at the sign posted to the left of the door.

"This must be in reference to the full moon" Hal explained.

Alex shook her head. "No, there's no way they're keeping someone in there."

Hal gave the handle a try, but the door didn't even budge. "Would you mind?" he asked her

Alex looked apprehensive at the door.

"Whatever is in there, it won't be able to hurt you, Alex."

"I know that, you drafty. It's just that, if they're really keeping werewolves in here, then the Men in Gray are much crueler than we thought."

Hal's expression turned grave. "They're only doing what has to be done to keep the world in order. To keep everyone safe."

"Yeh, try telling that to the people who got their throats ripped out in the park..."

"Look, we'll sort that out as soon as we can, but for now, could you please just open the door?"

Alex sighed deeply. "Fine, but if there's a dead, maggoty body waiting for me on the other side of this door, then I'm not speaking to you for the rest of the day."

Hal frowned. "That's a punishment?"

Alex sent a mock smile his way before disappearing.

The door clicked open a few seconds later. The atmosphere was eerie inside, the room seemingly sunk in both darkness and an unnatural silence. Alex hanged back while Hal stepped into the room. He immediately felt the presence of a werewolf nearby. At first he couldn't pinpoint exactly where he was in the darkness, but Hal then noticed a single spot of light coming from a few feet away.

"Hi" a voice said "do you happen to have a BellTone 500 answer machine?"

* * *

"You've gone crackers, the both of ya" Tom said, shaking his head.

"It's only temporary" Hal argued "he can't just go back to the Archive when the power is about to get cut. Especially now that there's a full moon tomorrow. It's not safe."

They had been discussing this for almost twenty minutes now, the both of them wandering around the kitchen while Alex kept an eye on Bobby. Hal was almost impressed by how much Tom was sticking to his guns.

"Well I still can't look after 'im" Tom said "I've already got my hands full because of the hotel and my own transformin' tomorrow. You're just gonna hafta ask Alex to do it."

"But she's not a werewolf, Tom. She can't just teach him the safe way to transform when she's had no experience in that area. Besides, I'm going to need her help on another matter."

Tom looked at him, frowning. "What'd you mean?"

"The man I turned" Hal said, his voice low, "he's started killing, and we need to stop him."

"And how're you gonna do that?"

"We found his address in one of Rook's files."

Tom frowned. "And you're just gonna go there and stake 'im?"

"That seems a bit... extreme" Hal said, wincing at the very thought.

"So you'll try and help him, then?" Tom asked. "How're you supposed to talk a vampire off going on a murder spree?"

Hal thought for a moment. "If Leo managed to put me on the straight and narrow, then surely I can do the same thing to Crumb."

Tom had to agree that he had a point. He folded.

Back in the living room, Alex swung her legs back and forth as he sat on top of the bar.

"So Rook's the one who locked you in that room?" she asked.

Bobby looked uncomfortable and fidgety on their sofa. Alex could tell that the room was too large for someone who had been locked inside a tiny area for years and years.

"He never really locked me in there except on the full moon nights. Mr. Rook said it's better for all of us if I stay in there."

"And you agree?"

Bobby looked away. "Monsters like me have to be kept away from the world. It's safer that way."

He spoke as if someone had made him memorize the line.

"You're not a monster Bobby" Alex said, hopping off the bar. She settled on the sofa next to the werewolf. "You're just a little special, that's all. Just like Tom."

"And Mr. Tom doesn't have to stay locked up?"

Alex shook her head. "Nope. He's got a job and everything."

"Friends, too?"

"Friends too" Alex said, smiling.

Bobby looked back at the kitchen, positively star-struck.

* * *

The funeral hadn't lasted long. Almost no time at all had passed, Natasha thought. It was surreal to think that a man could work all his life to build something, to better the world. And then he was reduced to nothing but few spoken words over a headstone.

She'd heard the rest of the Men in Gray talking about what needed to be done next. The Archive was about to lose its power because they lacked the funds, and now to lose Rook as well was a devastating blow to their department. Natasha knew it would take them quite some time to get over what had happened. But time wasn't something she had. She was determined to find out what had caused Rook to kill himself, and Natasha had to do it before the trail would go cold. She took another look at the letter and the set of keys inside before pocketing them. She needed to head out. Without a word to the rest of the men there, Natasha went down the path.

The Archive was surprisingly close to the graveyard, something that gave Natasha the creeps. But what really unsettled her was the feeling that someone had been in the building before her recently. She found the door to the werewolf Bobby opened and the room empty and dark. He couldn't have escaped on his own, especially when he had no reason to. Bobby was always in a constant state of paranoia or fright. Which meant that he had a helping hand in leaving.

Natasha walked on and found Rook's desk, littered with papers. She picked up the file that had been left on top of the rest and began to reach. The file pertained to a certain Ian Crum. Natasha's eyes went wide when she read that he was the author of the murders in the park. She wondered if the vampire had something to do with Rook and his early demise.

She needed to find this man. There was an address as well as a mention of his maker, a vampire named Hal. That seemed like a good place to start looking for answers.


	3. Chapter 3

"This must be it" Alex said, gesturing at the tag under the doorbell. The name had been crossed out and someone had written 'Crumb' underneath it.

Hal reached out to ring, but changed his mind when he noticed something. He tentatively gave the front door a nudge. It opened with a low groan.

"Yeh, that's not ominous at all" Alex said as they walked inside.

The flat was in complete disarray. The walls were streaked with blood, and the windows were left covered, sending the entire flat in darkness. The two wordlessly walked around, noting that the living room was in the worst state of all. Hal stopped by a table that had been toppled over, and straightened it. As soon as he did, an arm came into view.

"Is that what I think it is?" Alex asked, looking uneasy.

Hal nodded grimly. Two other bodies were lying behind the table. "I suppose this settles it. Crumb really is the one behind the recent murders."

"Looks like he's gone, though. What're we supposed to do?"

"We search for anything that might tell us where he is. He is our—" Hal paused, "_my_ responsibility. And that means these murders are also my fault."

"Not that I'm happy you turned someone into a vampire, but I don't think it's fair to say that."

"Whether it's fair or not doesn't matter" Hal said. "People are dead because of someone I made."

"Suppose we just try to clean this up ourselves, then? Rook's department seems to be missing in action these days."

Hal shook his head. "We don't have time to act as a replacement for him."

"Well what about all that talk about not letting people find out about supernaturals?"

"This will just look like another murder scene to the untrained eye" he said, resting the table back the way he'd found it.

"What about the trained eye?"

Hal bit back his retort when he noticed what looked like a discarded piece of paper. He picked it up and showed it to Alex.

"It's just an ad for some grocery store" the ghost said, frowning. "I don't get it, what does this have to do with the murders?"

"Alex, the park where the other victims were found is right behind this store."

"You think that's where Crumb's been picking his victims?"

"It's something to go on" he said, letting the ad drop from his hand. Hal turned round and headed for the front door.

"Hang on a minute, we can't go after him yet" Alex said, "we didn't bring any stakes or anything."

Hal stopped dead in his tracks. "Stakes?"

"Well how else are we supposed to kebab him?"

"No, we're not doing any killing here, we're just going to talk to him."

"And what, you think a couple of words will make him suddenly see the error of his ways?" Alex rolled her eyes. "Fat chance, that."

"A couple of words is what got me to walk on the right path. I have to believe that I can do the same for Crumb."

"And what if you can't? You're really gonna risk the life of someone just so you can prove a point?"

"This isn't me trying to prove some point" Hal said, feeling his blood start to boil, "this is about offering someone a chance. This is about doing the right thing."

* * *

Tom sighed when he entered the living room and found it empty again. He crossed over and found Bobby sitting on the floor behind the bar.

"Bobby, you don't need to hide from anyone here, mate. You know that, right?"

Bobby gave a half-nod.

"No one's gonna hurt you. Now c'mon, let's get you over to the sofa."

"Can't I just stay here? I promise I won't make any noise."

"It's not the noise, mate, it's just... " Tom rubbed the back of his head "Didn't Rook tell ya that most people don't just hide behind bars in other people's houses? It's not really polite."

Bobby looked sheepish. "I'm really sorry, Mr. Tom. I didn't mean to be rude and all, but I just don't like it out there."

Tom frowned at that. Bobby considered the living room as 'out there'? He wondered just how long he'd stayed locked up in his room.

"While I've got ya, Bobby" Tom said, changing the subject "ya know tonight's the full moon, right?"

The other werewolf nodded frantically.

"Well Hal tells me you've never transformed outside, so I've got a couple of tips on that. But in order for me to show ya, we'll hafta get ya from behind the bar."

"You mean out... there?" Bobby asked, pointing towards the sofa.

Tom shook his head. "I mean out out."

Bobby looked crestfallen.

"No, it's fine, really. There's all kinds of stuff outside – not scary stuff –but like fresh air an' butterflies an' flowers. You'll love it."

"I don't like butterflies..." Bobby said, looking anxious.

Tom struggled not to let his frustration show. "Well we can't just let ya transform in our cellar cause it's not strong enough to handle someone as big as-" He paused for a moment. "I mean it's been under construction down there. Nothin' but pipes and concrete, definitely can't keep a wolf at bay."

"Can't I just go back with Mr. Rook?" Bobby asked, hopeful. "I won't mind the dark too much if I get extra batteries for my flashlight."

"Well we haven't seen Rook in a while now, so we can't do that."

"Did something happen to him?"

"That's what my mates are trying to find out, actually."

* * *

Alex was beginning to feel like her feet were hurting. That couldn't be true, of course, since ghosts couldn't feel much of anything, and she realized it was probably just her mind remembering what it was like to walk everywhere. They had been walking for about half an hour now, something she thought was pointless when she could just rentaghost Hal over to the park. But he had made some point about not scaring a potential passerby, and she had to fold.

The ghost was starting to reconsider the strength of his argument when she noticed a line of men walking out from the nearby cemetery. They were all wearing gray suits.

"I think I recognize some of them" Alex said "from the night they took my body."

"Are you sure?" Hal asked.

"If I'm not, then something else must be giving me the creeps right now."

Alex noticed Hal had stopped walking and was sitting in the shade of a tree. "What're you doing?"

"I just realized something." He paused. "They're in a cemetery. And Rook isn't the type of man to be late or not show up to an event that the rest of the Men in Gray are attending."

The ghost frowned. "What's your point?"

"Where's Rook?"

Hal knew there had to be only one answer to that question.

* * *

Tom had managed to successfully coax Bobby from the bar, and now they were both in the kitchen. Of course that hadn't been the most difficult thing to achieve that afternoon.

"Can't we use something else?" Bobby asked, looking at the chicken on the string. "Chicken gives me high blood pressure."

"You won't even get to eat it, Bobby, it's for the wolf."

"Won't he get high blood pressure?"

Tom rubbed his forehead in exhaustion. Like it wasn't bad enough that he had taken the day off to babysit Bobby, now he was asking a million questions too.

Mercifully, he heard the doorbell ring. Bobby jolted backwards and hit his head on a cabinet.

"It's alright, Bobby, you stay here" Tom aid. He sighed heavily and hoped his day wouldn't manage to get any worse. What it didn't occur to him is that it could get any better. Tom felt his heart stop for a second when he saw who was standing outside the door. A beautiful girl who looked about his age.

"Hi" she said "does a Hal live here by any chance?"

Of course, thought Tom. _Of course_ she'd be looking for Hal. He wasn't even there and Hal was still managing to steal the attention of every girl away from him. It was just like when they were working at the café. He was just glad that Allison hadn't shown much interest in Hal.

Allison. Tom suddenly felt very guilty for thinking about this girl instead of her.

"Well?" the girl asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope" Tom said, shaking his head. "No Hal livin' here, sorry. But if I can help you with anything, you let me know."

The girl looked disappointed. "No, never mind. Thanks anyway."

Tom watched her walk away down the path. He couldn't figure out exactly what had compelled him to lie like that. He wasn't envious of Hal. No, he wasn't envious of having to deal with his condition every day of his life. But maybe he was a little envious of the fact that he'd stay just as young as they day he had been made.

As soon as the front door closed, Natasha carefully changed her path. She circled around the house. Through a kitchen window she managed to see someone twisting a chicken around on a string. Someone who looked a lot like the werewolf that had escaped the Archive.


End file.
